The Spanish Intergenerational Study: Beliefs, Stereotypes, and Metacognition about Older People and Grandparents to Tackle Ageism

Abstract

Ageism can be seen as systematic stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination of people because of their age. For a long time, society has accepted negative stereotypes as a norm. When referring to older adults, the United Nations Global Report on Ageism warns about a severe impact. The Intergenerational Study for a Healthy Aging, a questionnaire about believes, stereotypes, and knowledge about older people and grandparents, was administered to 326 Spanish biology and medical students. Here we report the results of stereotype analysis through adjective qualification of the youth and older people performed before the survey. Content analysis of two open questions about metacognition at the end of the survey is also presented. The results show that: (1) The questionnaire promoted metacognition; (2) Positive metacognition toward grandparents was higher than for the general old population; (3) Most participants were not conscious about ageism; (4) Gender was a key factor—male students were more ageist than females; (5) The feeling of guilt was higher in the questionnaire about older people; (6) The metacognition exercise elicited thoughts and, in few cases, the need to take action to tackle ageism. In conclusion, both activities promoted active thoughts about older people vs. grandparents and helped participants realize unconscious ageism—specifically toward the older population—serving as an awareness activity that may help tackle ageism.

Attitude towards Older People According to Sociodemographic and Educational Variables in Students of a Chilean University

“…Our results are consistent with previous articles that analyzed university students and that observed a trend towards a positive attitude [ 28 ]. Furthermore, these results are in line with international evidence suggesting that health sciences students and women have a more positive attitude towards aging compared to students from social sciences and humanities programs and men, respectively [ 28 , 29 ]. Likewise, students who acquire better knowledge in all aspects of aging through their education develop more-positive attitudes and interest in working with older adults [ 28 , 30 ].…”

Can Physical, Psychological, and Social Vulnerabilities Predict Ageism?

“…Thus, the present study contributes to the theoretical and empirical literature concerning the unconscious nature of ageism [6,29]. It suggests that a subjective experience of vulnerability might unconsciously be associated with negative aspects of the aging process, thereby intensifying individuals' anxiety about their own aging and resulting in ageism aimed at differentiating themselves from older adults, in line with the Social Identity Theory.…”

“…Researchers have proposed several explanations regarding the factors underlying ageism, all of them derived from the common conception that ageism results from unconscious mechanisms of fear and a need to reduce stress [6]. Thus, for example, it is argued that ageism is triggered by the physical changes that characterize old age, which might be perceived as signs of disease.…”

Análisis del edadismo durante la pandemia, un maltrato global hacia las personas mayores

“…La internalización de los estereotipos de edad comienza en la niñez y si son negativos se convertirán en miembros del grupo estigmatizado 4 , 5 , 18 . En el Estudio Intergeneracional para un Envejecimiento Saludable la mayoría de los estudiantes que participaron no eran conscientes del edadismo 19 . Es necesario aprender que con la misma perspectiva de futuro el tiempo para envejecer es subjetivo, cada persona lo siente de forma diferente.…”

“…Promover las intervenciones comunitarias, incidiendo en programas intergeneracionales y de integración social, con la participación real de los ciudadanos en todas las fases e incorporando la atención comunitaria en la cartera de servicios. Son múltiples los factores que contribuyen a la exclusión social, tienen efecto acumulativo e impacto longitudinal sobre la salud y el bienestar 19 , 20 , 21 . Para valorar el capital social y las redes sociales debemos trabajar con atención comunitaria, fomentando el contacto intergeneracional como recurso activo, no sólo en situaciones de emergencia social sino en situaciones habituales 2 , 13 , 18 .…”